A balun is a circuit transformer that combines two out-of-phase signals into a common port, or splits the common signal into two out-of-phase signals. Baluns are utilized for antenna feeds, high-efficiency amplifier techniques, and broadband 2nd-order cancellation. Previous attempts of baluns, generally, have a limited bandwidth, typically 3:1. For printed-circuit type applications, a Marchand balun is widely used with bandwidths of 3:1 having been demonstrated. However, current high frequency baluns, including the Marchand Balun, have high insertion loss and do not operate effectively at high frequencies.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for a broadband balun with the features as described herein.